Wednesday, December 23, 2009

18But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Grace Defined by dictionary.com

FavorGood willMercyThe freely given, unmerited favor and love of GodThe influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen themA virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian gracesAlso called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.

I really like all of these definitions. The last ones really go a bit further in regards to our walk with Jesus. Sometimes growing in grace can be really hard and tedious, much like my rose bushes in my garden. For some reason I have a really hard time growing these beauties. They seem to really need that extra green thumb and tender loving care that I do not possess. I was given a rose bush by my family for mother's day two years ago. I put in the ground and did nothing to it. Sadly, it died a quick death. I went and purchased another rose bush and I pruned it, water it, sprayed it with bug spray, found a nice sunny place and even put a ton a leaves around it to protect it during the winter. I was able to get a few blooms out of it before the summer was over and we shall see what happens next year.

My prayer is that my children grow in grace. I pray that they will be merciful, show favor and good will to others. But more importantly I pray that they would understand the grace that was given to them through salvation. That they will also come to know Christ great love and allow it to regenerate and strengthen them. What a great thing to pray into their little lives.

*"I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
That I may also find myself in a "State of Grace" and there I will...

The rock is in my garden...I put there as encouragement to my flowers...I don't think they listen to it very well though. A shout out to my sis....she took the rose picture~ I love it! I just love the gerber daisy pic. of my daughter...it makes me smile.

8 "You heavens above, rain down righteousness;let the clouds shower it down.Let the earth open wide,let salvation spring up,let righteousness grow with it;I, the LORD, have created it.

2 Timothy 2:10 (King James Version)

10Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Tears ran down my face as I saw my two girls come up from the water on a beautiful Sunday morning this past Thanksgiving weekend. My daughters decided to be baptized. As I watched them declare their decision to follow Jesus my heart was overwhelmed with thanksgiving. What an appropriate weekend to be baptized on.

I remember when my sister (age 9) and I (age 11) in 1987 decided to do the very same thing my daughters were doing that weekend. I remember that it was my decision not my parents. I also knew that I needed to grow in Christ and become more like Him, at the ripe old age of 11. I am always amazed how much young children grasp and understand.

As a parent, there is nothing I want more for my kids then to know Christ love, His salvation and His life giving promises. Everyday, we need to pray for our kids salvation and what we as parents can do to guide (not force) our children to Christ. I always appreciated my parent's guidance in my faith. They never in any way forced me to be a Christian and I never felt that. My decision to follow Jesus was 100% my own and that is so reassuring to me as a Christ follower. My faith is my own.

I want my children's faith to be there own as well. I want them to feel free to ask questions...even the tough ones. I want them to be able to explore all that God has for them. I also want to provide everything they need to grow in the salvation that was so freely given to them in Christ Jesus. Part of that provision is covering them in prayer....

*"Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory"

Have you ever wondered how or wanted to pray for your kids; but just didn't know what for? Sometimes I feel like I get stuck on the same thing over and over again. However, I want to pray for so much more for their little lives. I want God to do so much in them and through them. I want God's best for them.

I was going through all my junk the other day...rummaging through my purse and found something that I want to share here for the month of January.

I picked up this flyer somewhere by Bob Hostetler, it is excerpted from Pray! magazine issue #4, 31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Kids . I am going to go through one a day and write a little about each one. Let's then commit together to pray for our children each day for each topic.

Monday, December 21, 2009

On the 12th day of Christmas my Church program had ... 12 Peanut Characters!

For this year's Christmas program our church decided to do Merry Christmas Charlie Brown. It was fun to watch. It was fun to see my daughter dance during the Lucy and Linus song. My daughter played the part of Sally. Here is my take on Sally's hair on my daughter, it was pretty cute!

"Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" has become a tradition of Christmas. I watched it when I was a little girl and now my kids get excited when it comes on T.V. I love the message of it. So, to end my 12 Days of Christmas I will leave you with this message from Linus...

On the 11th day of Christmas my family chose to wear...11 ugly sweaters!

So in honor of Christmas this year we decided that for our family Christmas party everybody had to support their local Goodwill and find the ugliest Christmas sweater they could find and wear it to our party! It was so fun to see what everybody was inspired to wear.

But the prize went to my cousin Daniel for wearing a red dickey over a white t-shirt with grey plaid pajama bottoms being held up by Christmas suspenders. It was almost too much to take...I was laughing so hard when he walked in the door!

Now to be completely honest there were more than 11 sweaters; but for the sake of my blog (and not cropping anyone out) I had to make it work. LOL Here is a picture of the whole group. It was a really great time and terribly hilarious! I love my family! Kudos to the other Dan for the idea!!!!

On the 10th day of Christmas at a Swedish breakfast you will find...10 dancing tomte!

Ever since I was a little girl, my family has attended Faith Covenant Church's Swedish breakfast. It has been a wonderful Christmas memory. This year we even made it in the Farmington news paper which also writes beautifully about all the Swedish festivities that happen at the breakfast.Here we are just before the program started. The girls were checking out the fun centerpieces that are at each table. I can't wait for the yummy Swedish food that will be served in a few moments.

They make most of the food from scratch. The make Lucia buns, cardamom bread, skorpor, pepparkakor cookies, fruit soup, thumbprint cookies, and syrup cookies. They also serve ham, cheese, coffee and orange juice. The cardamom bread is my favorite. I want to go make some right now just thinking about it. During the breakfast, we are welcomed by Sankta Lucia. We hear a beautiful choir, a fantastic bell choir, see children dancing and a wonderful message by the Pastor. It is such a wonderful time remembering that we need to be light in a dark world.

They always end the breakfast with this Swedish folk song...The coffee's now cold let us stand and drink it allThe pleasure in Christmas belongs in this hallYou've received us so kindly our thanks we do giveWe now take our leave but the joy we'll relive

On the 12th day of Christmas for our gingerbread home we need...9 kinds of candy!

For the past 4 or 5 years we have built a gingerbread house. We go to our cute bulk food store and pick out some yummy candy and then the building begins. It is quite a process and takes a few hours for me but it is always fun for the kids.

I love how my kids think about things. I love what comes out of their mouths and what they do. My one daughter just couldn't get over the way the dough looked...she thought it looked like poo....I had to agree. My oldest couldn't even be in the room because she couldn't stand the smell of the molasses. My younger daughter always wants to be involved in the cooking process of anything. She reminds me of my sister and my friend Holly, she just loves baking and cooking. She is nothing like me, I can do without cooking.

Once it was cut out and cooked, then the building process began. This year for the first time, I had a roofing disaster! I have never had any problems in the building before; but this year nearly killed my love of gingerbread home making. I got a crack in the roof...which I knew was going to be trouble.

I tried fixing it many different ways....with a few little tricks up my sleeve...we got it to stay up. However, they are not allowed to eat it this year....well at least not the roof part. LOL

It turned out pretty cute! The girls love it and already have licked it several times.

Friday, December 18, 2009

On the 8th day of Christmas in a little pocket you'll find...8 days and counting!

On of my favorite Christmas traditions' growing up was my mom's advent calendar she made. I loved picking out the cute little ornament out of the pocket and placing it on the tree. My sister and I would always fight over who would get to put the star up. I would also try and sneak my favorite felt ornaments into the pockets that were going to be mine.

My wonderful mother made me a replica for my children. They are just like me and my sister, it's really kind of funny. I never have to remind them to do it...they always make sure it gets done. Ilove the anticipation it brings for Christmas day!

I just love Christmas time....

Have you ever started doing something and it turned into something quite different? I had to make 3 dozen cookies for my daughters Christmas party and I thought to my self..."Since I am already making a mess I might as well make some more for presents"....

more than 16 dozen cookies later....I decided something is terribly wrong with me! I am considering making more this morning .....something is wrong with me.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

On the 7th day of Christmas choir is where I find...7 songs for singing.

I joined our community Christian choir last year at Christmas time. Our church is too small to have one of our own. I love being in a choir it is fun learning your parts, singing with others and putting on a performance. I love going to church Christmas programs; they are just so much apart of the Christmas experience.

Here is the song I sang this year. I really love the words...

I love freedom. I love peace. I love joy in the world. I love knowing tomorrow holds hope for every boy and girl.

I love songs that fill the night and time with my family. Churches praying for peace on earth and loves generosity. It's very clear to me that is all because He came to set us free.

That's why I love Christmas and the hope it brings. Celebrating Jesus King of Kings. Jesus came bringing love...bringing peace... and bringing joy to us. I love Christmas.

It's not about the carols or presents around the Christmas tree. It's all about the promise His coming brought for you and me.

That's why I love Christmas and the hope it brings. Celebrating Jesus King of Kings. Jesus came bringing love...bringing peace... and bringing joy to us. I love Christmas.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Going to a Broadway musical is quickly becoming one of my favorite things at Christmas time. The last four years my sister has given us tickets to see a show for our Christmas present. We get all dressed up and have a wonderful time together. It is so much fun and my girls love it. We have seen White Christmas, The Lion King, Wicked and this year, Little House on the Prairie!

I was noticing something happening at Christmas time, my children were getting a lot of things that would end up buried in a closet somewhere...never to be played with much at all. We don't have much room in our house anyway. So, it made me think about the presents and things and what really is the point behind it all. Sure it is fun to receive a toy; but what will they remember most a gazillion toys or wonderful moments spent with family or learning something that they can take with them for the rest of their lives.

I asked my family if it would be okay to do something different than just giving my kids more stuff. My parents decided on lessons for the kids. The girls for the past three years have been taking ice skating lessons. My sister's choice was the musical thing. We have loved these gifts so much. The time spent with family and learning something new is priceless. Life is really more about wonderful moments than wonderful things. Thanks Family!

I love rethinking the holidays and discovering new ways to make it more rich, more about family...more about what God intended it to be all along.

Don't you just love my daughters face! She was tired of taking pictures. It was the best we could get out of her. LOL John took a nice picture...good job hubby!

Monday, December 14, 2009

On the fifth day of Christmas I always try to make five golden pancakes!

During the holiday season I always try to celebrate St. Lucia day, Dec. 13th. My family and John's family are part Swedish. My great, great grandparents came to America from Sweden. I love celebrating our heritage. The Swedish have a wonderful holiday celebration. You can check it out here if you are interested.

Now we do a little twist on the celebration. Usually, I wake up the girls and I make them my great grandfathers Swedish pancakes. I decorate my table with my Swedish decorations. I have all the little candles burning and we have a wonderful time. I also talk about that St. Lucia was a wonderful Christian and what a great example she was to us. We need to bring light into the dark world and that light is Jesus Christ.It is always a fun time and the girls enjoy it very much. So, I have decided as a Christmas gift to anyone who reads my blog...here is my great Grandfather's very special pancake recipe.

1. Mix dry ingredients.2. In anther bowl beat eggs and buttermilk real good.3. Combine dry and egg mixture into one bowl and mix until smooth.4. Add 1/2 cup oil...mix.5. Add water a little at a time. Mix after you add a little. Keep adding to make the pancake batter very thin. Thin like crepes. My grandma would always stand over us and say.."Not thin enough!" LOL6. Pour batter on griddle. We always made them on the small size about 3-4 inches in diameter.7. To serve sprinkle with powder sugar, roll them up and eat them with your fingers.

What fun traditions are in your family heritage? Have fun checking them out and always.....4 new little buildings